Nymph on Ren

I wanted to give poor Nymph tangle a second chance to really be the focus for the Shading Zentangle Nymph Challenge, since my first attempt was hijacked by Crescent moon and 3D Opus (see it here). I started well... then Zentwining and pearls tried to take over, but Nymph fought bravely:

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Look how fine those lines are!!! It's all because of my new toy, a magnifier with a lamp! Due to harsh cancer treatment and aging, my vision is not the same as it used to be, so drawing on the tiny 3.5inch tiles is sometimes a problem.

I LOVE my the new magnifier!!

(I got this magnifier on Amazon, here's a link if you want to get one for yourself)

Back to Nymph.

Aside from using Nymph as a focus tangle, I had a personal challenge of shading WITHOUT using graphite pencil. That's why I used the Renaissance tile, it is tricky to use pencil and eraser because the paper is so delicate and gets ruined. Here's the first pass using Grey Copic markers for shading:

The problem with markers is that even with a brush nib, the tips are FAT, and it's hard to get into those corners and crevices to get a really dramatic look.

In my attempt to solve this problem I discovered a new tool that I am ABSOLUTELY in love with: a GREY 0.1mm INK PEN. The one I used is the Copic Multiliner 0.1mm that came in a bundle. It sounds so silly, but I have never used mine, I got them a while ago and they were just sitting there. The grey crosshatching provides just enough dark corners near the inked edges, without overpowering the edge like a black pen usually does.